Thoracentesis, take three.

So I had another thoracentesis on Monday. A thoracentesis is a procedure in which they thread a catheter into the chest to drain fluid. They removed 2 liters of fluid from my left chest. The reason it’s accumulating is because the tumor is blocking the flow of lymphatic fluid through my lung. I had the first one done in the Emergency Room the day after Christmas, but they were only able to remove about 100 mL. The second one was done in my hospital room the next day and they removed about 1 liter and a half. I can’t say that I enjoy having it done, but it definitely helps me breathe better. Hopefully I won’t have to have another one. Once the chemo starts to shrink the tumor, things should start to flow normally again. The good news is that there are no cancerous cells in the fluid that was drained.

I’m glad you were able to get rid of so much pesky fluid (and thank God that was clear) Did you sleep better that night? We are all learning more about Lympoma than we ever wanted to know. I’m glad that soon the tumor will be shrinking and you should get some relief.